About

Mission Statement

Sydney Femme Guild is a queer feminist not-for-profit incorporated association working to create an awareness, understanding, and ultimately a celebration of femme identity within the GLBTQI community.

Who We Are

The Guild began in December 2008 as a group of like-minded femmes who saw a need for conversation and political mobilisation around femme identities and femme issues within the Sydney queer community. In 2010 the Guild registered as an incorporated association in NSW, facilitating funding opportunities from the community and government enabling further outreach to femmes in the wider GLBTQI community.

The Sydney Femme Guild Inc.’s Constitution Aims are:

Combat femme-phobia and femme invisibility and to celebrate femme identity with pride.

Advocate for self-identified femmes of all walks of life and gender identities.

Build connections and raise consciousness of Femmes within and around the community.

Give the collective of femmes a voice to promote equality and visibility of femmes in the queer and wider communities.

Provide access to education and mentors, hospitality for our friends and community.

Conduct events in furtherance of the above purposes, either by itself or in conjunction with other invited organisations.

Engage in all activities that give effect to the above aims.

What we have done

The Guild evolved quite rapidly and to date has marched at three Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras parades and held Fair Day stalls, hosted numerous fundraising and social events, and most importantly created and nurtured many amazing friendships.

In October 2010 the Guild hosted its inaugural conference Femme in the Frame where there was a fantastic spectrum of academic papers and panels and hands-on workshops. In June 2011, as part of the Camp Betty sex and politics festival, the Guild presented a panel on The Diversity of Femme which discussed the many nuances of femme gender and identity, raised the visibility of femmes within the queer community, and shared diverse perspectives from the panelists’ own experiences as femmes from a range of backgrounds. In 2013 City of Sydney, ACON and LInc, provided funding to support the Unpacking Femme Conference, an event that took Sydney (and the Guild) by storm. We hosted the conference at UTS, Sydney with the international keynote guests Amber L. Hollibaugh, author of My Dangerous Desires: A Queer Girl Dreaming Her Way Home, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha Founder of Femme Sharks and our national Keynote Kath Duncan, along with Mish Glitter Pony, Hannah McCann, Stella Delight, Jessica Ison and over 200 fabulous femmes and allies.

The successes of Unpacking Femme demonstrated the relevance of the Guild in the Sydney community, existing as part of the wider Femme movement across the world, striving toward greater understanding, visibility and celebration of the plurality and fierceness of femme identities. The Committee is keen to maintain the consciousness-raising and fundraising work; giving back to the broader queer community through grant schemes, events and big femme love.

Where are we now?

The 2015 Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival featured our event Femme Smut. And we won best community event for the festival from Mardi Gras! Thanks to all the volunteers and readers on the night!

Following the success of Femme Smut, the present committee is focusing on the developing the Guild’s strategy for 2015, its governance procedures and materials. Feel free to contact the committee and assist us as we continue to develop our strategic approaches in the community. Versions of these governance materials are available for consultation before ratification by the membership.